In the midst of anxious world choking on itself...

Verse for the week:  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zech 9.9

 Prayer for the 1st week of Advent: “Almighty God and Lord, come to us with all your power and help us who are anxious and troubled.  Send us the Savior, that he may enter our hearts, and with your light illumine our night, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 1^st ed.  Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1933, p.35.)

Bible reading for the day:  Jeremiah 33.14-16 (note: Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem from 627-580 BC, in the years just prior to the Exile and as it began; during the reign of Josiah and the last kings of Judah.)

¹⁴ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for raising up the righteous branch who is Jesus Christ. Repent me and your whole church of trusting in our own rightness… for that only leads us back into exile from you. As the branch yields fruit, so yield the fruit of Christ’s righteousness in our souls and our actions… that amidst a world choking on its anxious self, we may dwell securely in him; in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Hymn: G.F. Handel’s arrangement of Psalm 2 gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNcZgu9yFjU

“I believe in Jesus Christ…”

What does this mean?

I believe that Jesus Christ — true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary — is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, and has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I might be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as he is risen from the dead and lives and reigns for all eternity. This is most certainly true!  (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

Benediction: (1 Pet 5:10) And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you this day.  To him be the power forever and ever.  Amen.   

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
T: thanksgiving
R: regret (repentance)
I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.